


Tell Me A Story

by aisydays



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, brief mentions of Mr Ceiling, downtime, if Alex won't give them any then I WILL, set during Paris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:08:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23844997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aisydays/pseuds/aisydays
Summary: The London Rangers take some time in Mr Ceiling's lair to relax. Bertie tells a story, Zolf is incredulous, Sasha is invisible, and Hamid just wants everyone to get along
Relationships: Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan & Everyone, Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan & Zolf Smith
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19
Collections: Rusty Quill Gaming Exchange 2020





	Tell Me A Story

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AWitchOfMind (MroBeta)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MroBeta/gifts).



> This fic was written for the Rusty Quill Gaming Exchange 2020! It was requested by the wonderful AWitchOfMind who gave me an excellent prompt that I hope I have done justice :)

“…and then, as the ferocious snow leopard leapt at us, a great slavering beast with fury burning in its eyes and claws outstretched and gleaming like tiny stars of death, I raised my sword and-”

Bertie’s story was cut off by an incredulous snort from Zolf. Hamid hadn’t noticed him come in, and the floating disc he was perched on explained the silent entrance. Given Zolf had been sequestered off gods know where doing gods know what for the past few days whenever he wasn’t joining them for meals, it was nice seeing him around. Even if it did come with the caveat of being rude to Bertie, which even Hamid could admit did tend to be a common theme with most interactions that people had with the knight. His story did sound rather far-fetched, but Hamid was perfectly happy to sit back and let Bertie’s words paint pictures of far off lands and ferocious beasts, brave heroes striking out onto snow covered mountains in search of treasure and glory. Or at least he had been, until Bertie had been interrupted.

Looking up from the tiny suit of armour he had been lovingly polishing, Bertie glared at where Zolf was hovering. “Care to share your thoughts with the rest of the group Mr Smith?”

“I was just impressed Sir Bertrand” Zolf said, his overly formal tone betraying the sarcasm behind his words. Somehow, it was lost on Bertie, who seemed to perk up at the compliment.

“Well, I am an incredibly impressive person. And incredibly modest too, I always say”

Hamid met Zolf’s gaze and the dwarf winked at him, prompting a stifled giggle from Hamid. 

“Incredibly imaginative too,” Zolf drawled, propelling the disc further into the room and moving over to where Hamid had created almost a nest out of blankets and pillows that Mr Ceiling had scrounged up for them. “If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought this had actually happened”

The speed at which Bertie’s expression dropped was almost enough to pull another laugh out of Hamid, had he not been raised better (which, in Hamid’s case, had very little to do with life in high society and more accurately meant ‘raised to keep a straight face while Saleh Jr playing pranks behind the back of his namesake’). 

“I will have you know, Mr Smith,” Bertie said, voice rising to a bellow that echoed off the walls of the room they were squatting in, “that this is an entirely true story, and that I have not made any of it up. 

Zolf scoffed. There wasn’t much heart behind it – he certainly didn’t seem to be doing this maliciously. It felt more like payback, revenge for all the times Bertie asked one too many annoying questions or just kept talking obliviously over other people’s suffering. But Hamid knew Bertie too well at this point, knew that subtly was not often his forte when directed against him (the less said about his conversation with Wilde however, the better). Hamid could see this lasting for hours, Zolf slowly winding Bertie up into more and more of a fury. The part of him that had never really stopped being the scared kid at boarding school trying desperately to be liked was screaming at him to step in, dissolve the conflict before anyone got hurt, appease anyone who could be and do whatever needed to be done. Never mind that they were all adults, that no one here would yell at him for speaking funny or take frustration out on him. If there was one thing that had been ingrained in Hamid, it was conflict resolution. 

“W-well, I’ve been enjoying the story” he said, trying to keep the very slight tremble out of his voice. Despite his efforts, it was clear from the concern that flashed across Zolf’s face that it wasn’t entirely successful. His failure to keep composure being met by anything other than mockery though, that was interesting, and something Hamid was sure to cherish – as sad as that may sound. It emboldened him, as did the look of triumph on Bertie’s face as he found himself vindicated. If there was one thing Hamid knew, it was how to butter Bertie up, and telling him you enjoyed hearing about his heroic endeavours was essentially the top of that list. It did help of course that Hamid had genuinely found himself engrossed in the tale, but he wasn’t above a little… bending of the truth if necessary. 

“See!” Bertie’s voice boomed, clearly back up to his usual spirits, ego appropriately stroked. “At least one of our party appreciates a good story, and can tell a true account when they hear one!”

Zolf rolled his eyes at that, but thankfully said nothing. Instead, he dismissed the disc he was sat on, collapsing back into the nest of furnishings Hamid was entangled in. Hamid shifted slightly, allowing the dwarf to get comfortable, before turning back to Bertie, head back resting on his palms as he eagerly awaited the next part of the story.  
Bertie cleared his throat. “Now, where was I?” he said, picking up the tiny suit of armour that had apparently been dropped at some point. Bertie fussed over it for a few seconds, carefully and lovingly polishing away any scuffs and smoothing out any dents, before looking up expectantly. “Where was I? A lot of very impressive and heroic things happened on our quest and I find it very easy to loose track”

“You’d been attacked by a snow leopard.” A voice muttered from the shadows. Hamid nearly jumped out of his skin, pulse racing, before realising where it had come from.

“Sasha… how long have you been there?”

Sasha shrugged, carefully making her way over to the others. Hamid couldn’t help but notice she was clinging to the walls still, even after announcing her presence. Her black jacket had blended in with the darkness, and even now he knew she was there, her footsteps barely made a sound. Without making eye contact, or even acknowledging that Hamid and Zolf were there, Sasha perched herself on top of the pile of cushions Hamid had been leaning his back against. Her posture didn’t exactly scream ‘relaxed’, what with the way her knees were pulled tightly against her chest and her arms were wrapped around her body, knuckles white where they were gripping her elbows. Hamid opened his mouth to ask her if she wanted them to move, make some more room for her, but as he did, he caught Zolf’s gaze out of the corner of his eye. The other man shook his head almost imperceptibly, flicking up to Sasha and back. The message was clear, even if Hamid didn’t quite understand how Sasha could possibly be comfortable where she was. 

And yet, as Bertie resumed his story and Hamid settled back into the soft pile, he could feel the weight above him shift slightly. Slowly but surely, a leg crept down into his field of vision, just carefully resting on his shoulder. It was so light he could almost pretend it wasn’t there, but the sight of it made him smile, just slightly. He tapped it softly, nothing more than an acknowledgement that he saw her, and although it was met with a slight flinch, he felt the leg relax back against him, pressing just slightly harder than before.  
While he’d been distracted by Sasha, Hamid hadn’t even noticed Zolf inching closer. It wasn’t until he could feel the other man’s warmth pressed against his side that he noticed, turning ever so slightly. Zolf was still looking at Bertie, the same amused disdain in his eyes, but he was casually leaning into Hamid. It reminded him of when he was younger, trying to snuggle up with his older siblings but trying so hard to look grown up, especially once the twins were born and he wasn’t the littlest anymore. He could recognise someone who wanted contact, even if they weren’t allowing themselves to admit it. 

Later, he’d talk to Zolf about this. Maybe. His sort-of-boss seemed pretty tight lipped about this sort of thing, but Hamid was sure he could weasel something out of him. Or at the very least, convince him to relax enough for a proper cuddle. He might even get Sasha to come out of her shell enough to join them.  
But for now, this was enough. The warmth and presence of his friends beside him, a tale of dashing and adventure to get wrapped in. For a moment, Hamid allowed himself to forget the murderous AI, the rooms full of brains, the mechanical men shuddering and juddering behind the scenes. He was here, and that was all he needed.


End file.
